How Steam Locomotives Really Work by P. W. B. Semmens

£13.99
Available
Product Ref. (e.g. ISBN, SKU)
9780198607823
Published:
22 Apr 2004
Format:
Paperback
Number of pages:
348 pages
Dimensions:
196x129x19.4mm
Weight:
0.264kgs
The technology underlying steam trains was one of the foundations of the industrial revolution in the nineteenth century, and although it has since been replaced, steam trains can still be found all over the world, in preserved railways and museums. In How Steam Locomotives Really Work, Peter Semmens and Alan Goldfinch provide a comprehensive guide to the workings of steam locomotives, describing how they work, and exploring their development over the past 150 years, not just in the United Kingdom but across the whole world.
Following the pioneering work of Trevithick, Stephenson, and many others, steam locomotives continued to evolve and be refined until overtaken by diesel and electric traction technology. Although the last main-line steam service was operated by British Rail in 1968, there is still immense interest in steam traction, as demonstrated by the increasing numbers of privately renovated and preserved locomotives and heritage railways around the world. In How Steam Locomotives Really Work, the authors, both railway experts, cover the design of locomotives, the many processes in the conversion of fuel to tractive effort, the dynamic characteristics of the locomotive as a vehicle, the braking equipment, and a host of other systems, major and minor, that make up a working locomotive. They also explain the reasons for running and maintenance practices. Their explanations will fascinate enthusiasts, whether practical or armchair. Steam locomotive design may have started in the United Kingdom, but it quickly developed parallel and sometimes diverging techniques in other countries, leading to many distinct developments that contribute to the national characteristics of some locomotives. The authors embrace this diversity, and railway enthusiasts from around the world will find this book engrossing and enlightening.

About the Author: Peter Semmens was formerly Deputy Head of the highly popular National Railway Museum in York from 1974, and has been active for many years in the popularization of science and technology. He has written 33 books on trains and railways, and in 1990 he was appointed Chief Correspondent of The Railway Magazine, having written the monthly 'Railway Practice and Performance' for many years. Alan Goldfinch was Chief Mechanical and Electrical Engineer, British Rail Eastern Region, until he retired in 1989.

More Information
Number of pages 348

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